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Mary Louise Gill. Philosophas: Plato's Missing Dialogue. Oxford-New York: Oxford LTniversity Press, 2012. Pp. x + 290. Cloth, $55.00.
Many readers of Plato find it difficult to figure out what the author is really arguing in his works. LTnlike other philosophical writing, most of Plato's works are dialogues, which causes difficulty because Plato does not clearly endorse any one of the characters as his spokesman. In order to overcome this, readers should presumably exercise their own rea- son when reading Plato's dialogues in order to find out what the author's main idea is. In fact, this is exactly what Plato expects from the readers of his dialogues. He does not let his readers sit idly and read passively. Rather, they should carefully and critically analyze his arguments, actively participate in the conversation between the interlocutors, and find the main points of the discussion, in order to criticize each character's position and eventually formulate their own arguments. The readers of Plato's dialogues are meant to take part in philosophical conversations orchestrated by their author, whose intention is to lead his readers into philosophical projects.
In this book, Mary Louise Gill argues that the readers of Plato's trilogy-Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman, the conversation between the Visitor...